


AU - Revenant

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [64]
Category: Bleach
Genre: AU, Character Death, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-01 07:01:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4010326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Author's note: Just a teaser. Want to see more of it?</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Just a teaser. Want to see more of it?

"He's incredibly lifelike for a revenant." Shunsui commented as he looked through the one-way glass. The subject of his scrutiny settled his cheek in his hand, his eyes half-closed as he said something to his interrogator.

"It is remarkable." Juushiro said with a touch of worry as the young woman in the room scowled at her subject. "Aren't you worried for her?" He asked and Shunsui shook his head.

"Nanao will be fine. She's powerful with kido and his kind are weak to that." Typically, at least. "Besides, he doesn't seem vicious." The man in the other room seemed practically somnolent.

"I suppose that's true. He's definitely not like most revenants." Juushiro allowed and Shunsui nodded as he saw Nanao throw up her hands in a disgusted gesture. The man she was questioning shrugged and yawned.

The revenants name was Coyote Starrk. He'd been killed, brutally murdered only a year ago. That had left his little sister with no one in the world and she'd taken to stealing to survive. Social services had picked her up twice, but the foster system could be hard. Shunsui knew that personally. Lilynette Gingerbuck hadn't taken to it well and she'd run away from the group home.

Then she'd been caught stealing by someone with no patience. From the sounds of it, the man had been about to cut her hand off when her brother had suddenly gripped his wrist and told him, in a quiet voice, to stop. The man had tried to stab the revenant but Starrk had simply caught the blade and ordered the man to go away. The man still hadn't realized what he was dealing with, though, and had kept trying to attack. Only at that point had Starrk broken his arm. Then he'd held his sister, who had been sobbing at his return, and waited for the police to arrive.

Now they had a captive undead on their hands. While it was troublesome in some ways – revenants who wanted to remain 'alive' had to feed and Starrk might eventually go insane – it also presented them with a great opportunity to solve a vicious murder. That of Coyote Starrk.

"He's hopeless!" They both looked up as Nanao stormed into the room. Coyote Starrk was alone in the interrogation room now, his head on the table. "He refuses to tell me anything."

"Does he not remember?" Juushiro asked, mildly confused. Shunsui also felt rather puzzled. Why wouldn't Starrk want to help them solve his own murder? It had been an utterly gruesome crime, too. The man had been gutted before being torn almost in half. Nanao growled.

"He remembers. He just refuses to say who did it. He says it was a mistake!" She spat the words out and Shunsui frowned. That… was absurd.

"Let's talk to him." He said before standing. Juushiro frowned him, frowning, as they went into the interrogation room. The revenant looked up and surprise flashed over his face before he gave them a sweet, almost shy smile.

"Shunsui, it's been so long. Do you remember me?" He asked and Shunsui stared. Remember him? "We went to school together. St. Anne's?" He blinked as his childhood was recalled.

"I'm… sorry. I can't recall." He felt a little awkward admitting that. Starrk's smile turned a touch bittersweet.

"I suppose you made more of an impression on me than I did on you. I was two years younger, you stopped some other children from beating me up and stealing my lunch." He said and Shunsui shuffled through his memories in vain before shaking his head and taking a seat. Juushiro had already grabbed a chair. "And I saw you again later at that bomb scare at Nijemi mall. You went right past me… I could hardly believe my eyes. I wasn't even sure it was you, but I read about it in the newspapers later. You gave a statement and there was a picture of you."

"Ah." That did explain how Starrk had recognized him so easily. Still, he had a job to do. "Starrk, we need to know who killed you." He said, tackling the problem directly. Starrk blinked slowly at him before resting his chin in his hand.

"Why?" He asked before yawning. "It will accomplish nothing but put an innocent man on the stand." He said and Shunsui frowned at him. Then Juushiro spoke.

"Why do you say that?" He asked and Starrk just shrugged. "You were murdered so brutally for no reason." Shunsui nodded. No one had ever been able to find a motive for Starrk's death. It had seemed like the most pointless of crimes. "Please, we need your help."

"Mmm, it is all the past." Starrk brushed the question away and Shunsui couldn't hide his disbelief. Was the man serious? Revenants were supposed to be full of rage at their passing, not treating it as a – a minor inconvenience! "He is unaware of his actions."

"How can you know that?" Shunsui said as persuasively as he could. Starrk just looked at him through half-lidded, sleepy eyes. "Starrk, people claim to be under malign influences all the time. It's almost always a lie." He'd seen that many, many times. The man across from him shook his head.

"I know he has no memory of what he did. I know he was being controlled by an outside force." Starrk scratched his beard before shaking his head. "It was completely out of character. Those who knew him would be aghast. I assure you, it was not his fault." Shunsui couldn't help but feel the surrealness of the moment. The victim defending his murderer…

"That might be true, but we need to question him." Juushiro said, humoring the revenant. Really, who believed in 'malign influences'? It was very hard to control someone through kido that way! "If we can question him we can determine how the control was applied." Internally, Shunsui congratulated Juushiro. That was a very good argument. "We need to know who he was to prevent this from happening again." There was a long silence as Starrk digested that.

"I… suppose you might be right. I don't know why it was me. Why anyone would go to such lengths to kill me." Starrk rested a hand in his hair, glancing up at the ceiling and Shunsui held his breath. He could tell the undead was weakening. "He is an able kido wielder. It would have required a power of such strength…" Shunsui almost pitied him then. The person who'd killed him had been a kido wielder, and Starrk was still sure he was innocent? That was just impossible. "I am no one. It makes no sense." He sounded bewildered by it all. Then he sighed, dropping his hand and looking at them both. Shunsui saw such weariness, such sadness in those grey eyes. "Are you certain you want this? Absolutely certain?"

"Yes. We need to ask him why he did it." Shunsui said and Starrk stared at him for a moment before laughing. It was a light, very amused sound.

"Ah… you have no idea how easy that will be. Tell me, Kyoraku Shunsui." Starrk leaned forward, a smile playing over his lips as he looked at him with hooded eyes, full of dark secrets. Then the revenant spoke the words that would be the start of his private nightmare. "Why did you kill me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Shunsui stared at the revenant in disbelief. Starrk just looked back, meeting his gaze. There was a challenge in those grey orbs, but also amusement and sadness, as though he knew the challenge would not be met. Shunsui blinked, his mind taking refuge in disbelief.

"I… that's insane! Tell us the truth." He said and Starrk sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before resting his cheek in his hand. When he opened his eyes again the emotions were gone, replaced with weariness.

"I am telling you the truth as I know it." He said and Shunsui swallowed before glancing at Juushiro. He looked stunned. "Would you like me to tell you what happened?"

"Yes, please." Juushiro said softly before pushing something towards Starrk. Ah, a glass of water? When had he gotten that? But revenants did need to drink. Starrk accepted it, taking a sip before he began his story.

"It all started when I went down to the river to think. I'm sure Lilynette told you about my habit of going there?" He said and Shunsui nodded. The records of the case had indicated that Starrk liked to go down to the river whenever he was feeling under stress. He often waded into the waters, letting them wash away his cares. "It was well after night had fallen. I was looking into the dark water, musing on the beauty of the reflections, when I heard footsteps. I turned and I saw you." He said, looking directly at him. Shunsui swallowed, trying to disbelieve. But it was hard, when Starrk looked so certain. "I recognized you… I almost called out your name, but I stopped. I knew something was wrong. You were walking towards me so purposefully and the expression on your face was strange. Then I saw what you were holding." Starrk paused for a moment, his gaze far away.

"Two great blades." He continued and Shunsui stopped breathing for a moment. Surely he couldn't…? "They were black things, like nothing I'd ever seen before." A ball of ice was forming in his belly as he listened. "Curving, like scimitars, one long and one short." Nausea was joining the ice as Shunsui swallowed back bile. And Juushiro saw the look on his face.

"Shunsui, you know those weapons?" His friend asked, his tone sharp. Taking a deep breath, he managed a nod.

"Katen Kyokotsu. They're… family heirlooms." And there was absolutely no way Coyote Starrk could know about them. Unless he'd seen them. "Please continue." He said faintly. He had to know this. Starrk gazed at him in concern.

"Shunsui, perhaps you should have something to drink?" The revenant suggested and he couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Starrk was concerned for him, at a time like this? "You look very pale. I know it's a shock."

"No. Please, just tell us the rest." He had to know. He needed to know. Starrk chewed his lip for a moment before shrugging.

"When I saw the swords, well, I'm not a complete idiot. I tried to run. But I was never that athletic… you chased me down easily and stabbed me in the back." Starrk ran a hand along his back, finding a spot just over his kidneys. "Right about here, I think. It hurt a great deal and I went down. I rolled over and I tried to catch a blade in my hands – " Defensive wounds. Shunsui remembered from the autopsy report. "It all happened so fast. The larger one, I managed to hold back but the smaller took me here…" Starrk gestured to his belly. "I don't think I screamed. I'm not sure. But I lost any fight I had… I felt the blade pulled through me and I knew I was going to die." Starrk's voice was dreamy and the revenant looked lost in thought as he remembered his death. "You dropped the larger blade. The smaller one, you pulled it free… I remember noticing there was a gold ball on the end, with a red silk tassel." Oh god. Shunsui felt his breath coming short. "My blood was on it. I remember thinking how hard it would be to clean." Dear god. Did most dying men think about such things or was Starrk unique? "Then… it was so strange. You grasped my chin like this." Starrk demonstrated. "You ran your thumb over my lips…" He demonstrated again and Shunsui swallowed, feeling his stomach churning. "Then you cupped my face, staring into my eyes." Starrk dropped his hands, slouching forward. "I would have thought you were savoring my death but there was no expression on your face. You could have been sleepwalking, your eyes were so blank. I knew it wasn't you but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone else. Someone looking at me through your eyes." The nausea was increasing. Oh god, was he going to throw up?

"Shunsui." Juushiro's hand on his shoulder steadied him. His friend was looking pale. "When was the last time you took out those weapons?" He asked and Shunsui swallowed, managing to keep a grip on his lunch.

"Over a year ago." Before Starrk's death. "I took them out to be measured. I was thinking of displaying them. I decided not to, after getting the quote." He had kept the quote, though, in case he changed his mind. "The quote would have the date on it." He said and Starrk spoke.

"You are thinking that the weapons might be the vehicle for the curse?" Curse… that was a good way to put it. Juushiro nodded and the revenant sighed, heavily. "I agree but I just can't understand why. Why go to so much trouble to kill me? A faked robbery, a bullet to the head… why kill me in such an elaborate manner? And why kill me at all? I don't understand." He sounded completely lost. "Oh… but I was not done. I was struggling to breathe as you gazed into my eyes…. After a few moments you let go and picked up the larger blade. Then you stood and brought it down on me, from here to here…" Starrk gestured and Shunsui remembered the autopsy report. The wounds to his stomach would have killed him, fairly quickly, but the strike to his chest had been the fatal blow. "And that is all. Except for the strange thing."

"Strange thing?" Juushiro asked and Starrk frowned before nodding.

"After I was dead." He clarified and they both exchanged a glance. "Being dead is… I cannot describe it to you. There are no words." He seemed a touch wistful as he remembered. Shunsui was surprised, even through his personal misery. He knew that wasn't typical at all of revenants. Most couldn't remember and the few who could were generally terrified of dying again. "But I remember, there was the strangest feeling. I didn't like it so I ignored it until it went away." Starrk cocked his head to one side, his eyes distant as he tried to analyze the sensation. "It was similar to when Lilynette called for me but different. I'm sorry, I know this isn't very helpful." He apologized and Juushiro took a deep breath.

"I think the first thing we should do is secure those weapons." He said firmly and Shunsui had to nod. "Where do you keep them?"

"In my closet, in a specially made case. But it's warded and kido locked. I'll have to get it." At Juushiro's raised eyebrow, he explained. "They were made by Masamune himself. Together, they're worth roughly a quarter of a million." He shrugged as Juushiro stared at him. "I'm planning to give them to my own children, if I have any. If not, they'll be a retirement fund." Or at least, he had been planning that. Would they be confiscated now? They would certainly be taken for a while. Shunsui ran a hand through his hair, wishing he could disbelieve the revenant. But his description of Katen Kyokotsu was exact. "This is a nightmare." He whispered and heard the rustle of cloth as Starrk shifted.

"I know. And it is so long. What if there is no trace of the spell, nothing to tell us what happened?" Starrk sounded very unhappy and Shunsui swallowed. That… was fairly likely to happen. "What will become of you?"

"…I will probably be asked to resign." He said after a moment. If his superiors accepted Starrk's testimony and decided he had been under 'malign influences' they might not prosecute, but they wouldn't be able to trust him again. The undead across from him looked depressed at the thought.

"That is what I thought. Or even worse, you might be charged for my murder. It isn't right…" He sounded just as depressed as he looked and for a moment, all three of them were silent, sharing their misery.

"We should get those weapons." Juushiro broke the silence and Shunsui nodded. "Starrk, are you hungry?" He asked and the revenant shook his head. "Would you like to see your sister?" She was at the police station, being given a good meal and a place to sleep. A smile lightened Starrk's face.

"Oh yes. I will take care of her now, as long as I can." The revenant said and Shunsui felt a bit of pity for him. Starrk knew his time was limited and he wanted to make the most of it.

"Of course. We'll take you to her." The room was sealed with kido but they had the 'keys'. A revenant couldn't be trusted to wander around. They both stood and Starrk followed, a small smile on his face. "Right this way…" As they left the room, Shunsui and Juushiro completely missed the kido lock flickering and vanishing. If they had noticed, certain questions might have been raised sooner.

But they didn't and life went on.

* * *

"STARRK!" The little girl at the table flung herself up and into the revenants arms. He caught her easily, smiling in pleasure at the reunion. "You bastard! I've been waiting for you! Where were you?!"

"They were questioning me. What have you been eating? It smells good." Starrk said and Lilynette sniffed, hugging him tighter.

"It's okay… are they going to solve your murder? And when are we going home?" She asked, pulling her head back and looking into his face. Starrk looked taken aback at the questions and Shunsui winced internally.

"They… are working on it. And I can't come home." He said gently as she stared at him. "Lilynette… I'm dead."

"I don't care!" She was hugging him again and the revenant shot them a helpless look. "You promised me Starrk! You promised me we'd always be together and you'd take care of me! I NEED you! No one else understands!" She was sobbing now, burying her face against the fabric of the suit Starrk was wearing. It was what he'd been buried in. "You have to come home! You have to!"

"Lilynette…" He held her close and Shunsui could see the tears building in his eyes. "I'm… dead. The dead don't come back, not really…" His voice was husky and Juushiro stepped forward, resting a hand on the little girl's back as she sobbed.

"Lilynette. You're just making this harder for him." He said gently as she tried to ignore him, just clinging to her brother. "Revenants have to feed on life to stay 'alive'. If they try to deny the urge, they go insane. Is that what you want for him?" And that was surely the direction Starrk would go. He would refuse to feed until it destroyed him.

"I don't… wanna… be alone again…" She said and Starrk closed his eyes for a moment before gently brushing a kiss over her soft green hair.

"I know Lilynette. I'll help find a good family for you, a good place. I'll stay with you as long as I can. But you have to be ready for when I have to go." He said gently and she only sobbed harder. "Oh Lilynette…" He made soft, soothing sounds and Shunsui bit his lip. He wished they could help but they really couldn't. And besides…

"We have to go." He reminded Juushiro and his best friend nodded with a sigh. Leaving the two of them behind, they went to his apartments. Shunsui dreaded what he would find there. Would Katen Kyokotsu be smeared with blood? Or had he had the presence of mind to clean the blades?

His worst fears were realized when he muttered the words to unlock the kido and lifted the lid to the case. It stuck a little and Shunsui felt sick as he opened it and saw why. It had been partly glued shut from the old, dried blood. As he gazed over the weapons he realized the silk case was utterly ruined. There was no way those stains would ever come out. The blades could be cleaned but the silk tassles were also ruined…

"Oh kami." Juushiro breathed behind him. "Shunsui, shut the case. We need to get that to the kido team." He nodded before gently shutting the case. He couldn't detect anything, though, which wasn't a good sign. But perhaps Nanao and the other specialists could find something.

When they got back to the station they immediately delivered Katen Kyokotsu to Nanao. Then they had to report to Yamamoto. Shunsui cringed internally at the thought. With concrete proof of Starrk's story in hand, there was no hope. At best, he was going to be relieved of duties and confined. At worst, he would be charged.

It was a nightmare.

* * *

"You look really awful in that suit." Lilynette said as she bit into her fast food hamburger with relish. Starrk regarded her tolerantly.

"It's your fault. I already asked and I'm told I was buried in it." He reached up to pull on the tie, loosening it. "Give me a few days and I think I can make it mine." Suitably rumpled and stained. He'd always had a form of anti-style, managing to make even the best ensemble look unkempt. Lilynette rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I bet you can. Want some fries?" She pushed them towards him and he shook his head. He felt no hunger at all, not even the slightest twinge. And what did the undead eat? Brains? He was sure it wasn't take out fries. "Starrk… I really do need you." Lilynette's voice was lower and he sighed.

"I know." How could he not? They had never known their fathers. Their mother had vanished when Starrk was just fifteen. He'd dropped out of school to take care of his sister, getting jobs under the table until he was old enough to hold them legally. It had been rough but he'd kept food on the table and a roof over their heads. "I'll do the best I can." Lilynette just looked at him for a moment before heaving a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess." She continued eating the fries and Starrk noticed how boney she was. It made his heart hurt. How was he supposed to fix this? "So, what happened? I mean, I sort of know what happened… it was all over the papers, you were cut in half!... but what REALLY happened?" She asked and Starrk winced.

"I'm not sure I should talk about it. They're investigating." He said truthfully. No one had told him to remain silent but it might be important. Lilynette scowled at him but Starrk stayed firm. "You've watched plenty of Law and Order, you know how this goes."

"That's a TV show! Oh, whatever. I still don't understand why anyone would kill you. You're like, the best guy ever." Starrk couldn't help but blush. Best guy ever? "You only had one boyfriend and you only broke up 'cause he had to go to uni." Halfway across the country. It had been a tearful moment but with his major, it was likely his boyfriend was never coming back. So they'd agreed it was time to make a clean break. "And you worked at burger king. How much money did you have on you, a dollar?"

"No, thirty seven cents." He muttered, recalling that tiny detail. He remembered because he'd been trying to get a soda earlier and had realized he was too broke. Lilynette waved that away.

"Yeah, whatever. I was like it HAS to be a pervert. They said you weren't raped or anything, though. You weren't right?" Starrk smiled fondly at that blunt inquiry. That was so Lilynette. "I mean, you don't have to go into details if you were. Just want to know."

"No, I wasn't." He said easily and she looked relieved. "It was terrifying but rather quick. I didn't suffer that much." Lilynette gave him a skeptical look.

"Starrk, you were gutted! Don't tell me that didn't hurt." She said and he winced, remembering. It had been extremely painful. "But if it was fast I guess that's good. Although it shouldn't have happened." Lilynette rubbed her eyes and Starrk reached over to gently take her hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze as she sniffed. Then she went back to her food and Starrk just watched her, enjoying being 'alive' and with his little sister.

Then a young woman with black hair, wearing glasses, came into the room. She was holding a bowl and came over to them, setting it down in front of him without a comment. Starrk looked at it in bewilderment. It was full of… what?

"What is this?" He touched the spoon, swallowing back a bit of nausea as the congealed stuff moved. It was red, very red.

"Pork blood and flesh." The woman said shortly and left before he could say anything. Starrk stared after her, utterly taken aback as his sister peered at the bowl in front of him.

"Um, ew, gross? Is that what you eat?" She asked and Starrk shrugged, feeling helpless. He still wasn't hungry but perhaps he should try it? He swallowed hard, closing his eyes before raising a spoonful of red blood to his lips. He didn't want to go insane and perhaps this would hold it off… The pork blood didn't taste too bad. Salty. But as soon as he tried to swallow, his throat closed up. He was simply unable to do it. He had to spit the mouthful out, shaking his head.

"I can't." He said before pushing the bowl away. Lilynette looked dubious but then shrugged, taking a deep drag from her soda straw. Then Shunsui came into the room. Starrk looked up, feeling a deep twinge in his heart as he did.

Shunsui didn't remember him. Starrk hadn't expected he would. But Starrk remembered him very well… that incident when he was a child had struck him, deeply. It had been the first time someone had helped him that way. After that, he'd admired Shunsui from afar. It had almost been hero worship… the older boy had been so amazing in so many ways. A jock but not arrogant. Good at his classes. Charming, with a large circle of friends. He was everything Starrk had wanted to be, but known he couldn't manage. Unfortunately, Starrk had been two years younger. They'd shared no classes and Starrk had known he wouldn't be welcome in Shunsui's circle of friends. Then Shunsui had left St Anne's and he'd dropped out before he could see the other boy again.

"OI STARRK!" He yelped in pain as a hand slapped his head. "Wake up! Geeze!" Lilynette complained as Shunsui stared at them both. "He was talking and you totally weren't listening!" She berated him as he blushed.

"Stop it! I'm, uh, sorry. Please have a seat?" He offered and Shunsui smiled at him. Starrk felt that painful tightening in his chest again. Ah kami, he was so attractive as a grown man. And to his slight surprise, Shunsui almost seemed cheerful as he took a seat.

"I've been put in charge of the investigation." He said, to Starrk's surprise and pleasure. That meant they most certainly were not going to charge Shunsui with murder. "It's the best outcome I could have hoped for. Of course, my position is riding on this." He said wryly and Lilynette spoke.

"Huh? Why would your spot be on the line?" She said and Starrk froze as Shunsui looked surprised, glancing at him.

"Oh. You haven't told her?" He said and Starrk shook his head. "We rather assumed you would."

"I wasn't sure… I forgot to ask…" And he'd watched Law and Order plenty. Also CSI, but he strongly suspected that show was taking extreme liberties with procedure. Law and Order had seemed more gritty and realistic. "Were you planning to keep her here for some time?" Perhaps that was why they were fine with it. Shunsui looked sober for a moment.

"Until the investigation is closed. Forgive me, Starrk, but revenants summoned by a loved one tend to be obsessed with that person." Starrk winced as Lilynette glanced between them. "We thought it would be better to keep you together as long as you're here."

"…Ah." That did make sense. No doubt they would lay him to rest as soon as the investigation as complete. Lilynette spoke then, sounding frustrated.

"What's going on? What are you hiding from me Starrk? I hate it when you hide stuff from me!" She said sharply and he sighed, rubbing his forehead. Then he decided there was nothing to do but say it.

"Lilynette, this is Kyoraku Shunsui. He's the one who stopped the Nijima bombing. Remember?" She might, they had discussed it. She blinked before grinning.

"Oh yeah! He's the guy you said was totally hot!" Starrk choked as Shunsui stared at the little girl, his expression shocked. "The one you thought was totally awesome when you were a kid and – MPH!" He'd quite firmly put a hand over her mouth.

"That is private! He's also the one who killed me." He said, mostly to forestall any other embarrassing revelations. Lilynette went still under his hand, her pink eyes suddenly going wide. "He was under an evil spell. We're going to figure out who cast it and why." He said before removing his hand. Lilynette stared at Shunsui, who looked at the table, guilt and pain flickering across his face. Then Lilynette looked at him.

"…No way. He did it?" She whispered and Starrk nodded sadly. "…Why?" She said to Shunsui, her voice full of such pain. Starrk winced before moving, drawing her close to him. He was glad she wasn't going insane and attacking Shunsui, but this reaction wasn't much better.

"He doesn't know. He can't remember." He comforted her as she shuddered and pressed her face against him. "We'll figure it out." Somehow. They had to. Starrk didn't want this to cost Shunsui his career.

"But that's crazy Starrk. You're nobody. I'm nobody." Lilynette said, her voice muffled as she pressed against him. Starrk sighed, feeling the aching pain of it. It was so true though. He was no one important. "Why would someone cast a spell on him like that? I don't get it."

"We'll find out why." Shunsui said reassuringly as she sniffed. "And I'm… I'm sorry." He said and Starrk looked up, seeing that guilt on his face again. He gave the other man a smile, the best he could muster.

"It's not your fault." He said as he gently stroked Lilynette's hair. "We'll figure it out." Somehow, they would get to the bottom of this. They had to. Shunsui's job was on the line. Although it was more than that… Juushiro's words were haunting him, as well.

They needed to make sure nothing like this happened again.


	3. Chapter 3

"…There is definitely a foreign kido infused in these blades." Nanao was making her report and Shunsui was honestly surprised by it. A full year later and the kido was still present? "It was very well concealed."

"Still present after all this time?" Juushiro said as Yamamoto just listened. Nanao nodded, a faintly troubled look on her face.

"There was a completion clause built into it. The kido went dormant until it reached that point and then began degrading. From the level of degradation, I would say it reached completion only two days ago." Exactly when Starrk had returned from the dead. They exchanged a glance. "The rest of it is so complicated it will take me weeks, even months to decipher. I might need help." Nanao didn't look at all embarrassed, admitting that. To the contrary, she seemed excited. "It's an incredibly advanced spell, the kind of thing a true master would create. However, for now I would recommend calling in an expert on undead to examine Starrk-san."

"Hmm, I see." Yamamoto nodded. "The timing is extremely suspicious." As though the kido was intended to revive the man as a revenant. But why? What would the point of that be? Shunsui had no idea. "Please arrange that." He said and she nodded, pleased with his acceptance. Calling in outside experts was always a touch expensive but this was a very important investigation.

"I know just who to call. He should be here in a week." She promised and Shunsui had to school himself to patience. Although they still had Starrk. He would try questioning the revenant again but this time, maybe he would go a different direction.

Leaving that meeting, he met Starrk in the lounge. The undead was sprawled over a sofa as Lilynette sat on the floor, avidly watching a TV show. So you think you can dance? Shunsui smiled a bit as he watched. It was a good show, he had to admit. Starrk lifted his head, looking both tired and comfortable.

"Mmm, do you want to question me again? I'm not sure what to tell you. My life was a complete bore." Starrk said and Shunsui smiled as he took a seat beside him. The revenant shifted his legs, making room.

"Tell me about that." He suggested and Starrk blinked. "Just tell me about your life." Perhaps Starrk would recall something he'd thought was nothing at the time. The man stared at him for a moment before shrugging.

"It was always the same. I was trusted to open the store…" Starrk went through his usual day at the burger shack. He was both a cashier and a cook, doing anything that needed doing. "My feet always hurt so much." He said with a small sigh. "I never got used to it. I so wanted another job, something where I didn't have to be on my feet all day. It was a shame the modelling job didn't come through."

"Huh? What?" Lilynette was suddenly distracted from her show. "What modelling job? You never told me about that!"

"I did. You were too busy watching Big Brother to listen." Starrk corrected her and she scowled at him.

"You dick! You only tell me things when I'm watching Big Brother when you don't WANT me to listen!" Shunsui couldn't help but laugh at that. They were so adorable together. "Why were you hiding it?" She demanded and Starrk sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I thought you would mock me and tell me I was actually going to be asked to sell steak knives." He admitted and she blinked before grinning. It was a fiendish smirk.

"Yeah, I would totally have done that. But it wasn't steak knives? What happened?" She demanded and Starrk sighed before explaining.

"It was a cattle call… there were so many people there. They interviewed each of us and asked that we submit to a kido test." Shunsui's interest sharpened. Kido test? For what? "They said it was to make sure we were not diseased. I asked if this was for something pornographic… they told me it was not. I said I wasn't sure if I minded – "

"STARRK!" Lilynette slapped his leg, making him wince. "You are not going to star in a smut film! Geeze!"

"It was right after that little tin god wrote me up for not taking the trash out fast enough." He said tiredly and Shunsui winced a little inside. "A properly run porn studio was starting to sound acceptable. It would have paid better."

"Yeah, well, anything would have paid better. Anyway, can you even have sex anymore?" From the look on Starrk's face he would have been blushing if he could. "Whatever. Keep going, what happened?"

"They took me aside and ran additional tests on me. The one doing it was a rather strange man, he had pink hair." Starrk said and Shunsui froze a bit. There was one person with pink hair they were keeping an eye on. On the other hand, there were more people with unusual hair in the city than just one. Still… it was worth looking into. "He kept saying things like 'fascinating' and 'incredible.' I really hoped I might get a job with them. Even if it didn't pay too much more surely it would be easier." Starrk sighed, looking away. "But they never contacted me. And three months later, I died." He sounded quietly depressed.

"Starrk, did you catch this man's name?" He asked but the revenant shook his head. "Can you tell me more about where you went?" This sounded like a solid lead. Kido tests to be a model? The disease excuse was plausible but only if they were recruiting for pornography. That wasn't the sort of thing you did a cattle call for, generally.

"Yes, I remember, it was in the industrial centre. I can't recall the address but there was a gas station across from it. A Husky? Yes. I thought about stopping for a bottle of water but decided I shouldn't. Too expensive for nothing. I just waited until I got home. I had to take transit so that took a while." He sounded resigned.

"Dreaming about having a car again? Not like we would have had a place to park it anyhow." Lilynette said before glancing at him. "That many kido tests is weird, ain't it? You going to check this out?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yes, definitely. So you were answering an ad in the paper?" He continued questioning Starrk a bit longer as the undead did his best to recall. It wasn't easy for him, given that it had happened several months ago. Still, he tried his best. When he'd gotten all he could, he bid them farewell and left to find Juushiro. As he left, though, he glanced back and saw a soft, wistful look on Starrk's face. Their eyes met for a moment before the revenant looked away. Shunsui smiled to himself as he left the room. It hadn't occurred to him before Lilynette had pretty much told him, but now he could tell Starrk was attracted to him. They'd already known he was gay, that had been part of his file. Were revenants even capable of that, though? He'd ask Nanao's specialist when he came. Just as a matter of curiosity, of course.

Starrk was still an important part of the investigation. He wasn't going to do anything about that attraction just yet.

* * *

"I'm so tired." Starrk muttered, blinking heavily. "Nnngh." Standing up from the table he'd been sitting at, he went to the door and touched it. He was completely oblivious to the kido lock vanishing. All he knew was that he was feeling a bit better. "Ah."

He was supposed to be waiting in this room for a specialist on revenants to arrive. He knew he needed to remain here… but he was feeling oddly anxious and needed to move around. Odd. He rarely felt like that… for a time he tried to resist the impulse but it finally became too much. Starrk opened the door and walked out, wandering aimlessly deeper into the building.

Those he passed paid no attention to him. Starrk thought it was his suit, doing him some favors. He looked like he belonged, in a way. Slouching a bit he continued, brushing his hands against doors as the mood moved him. It made him feel better. Then he paused as he found a different door. This one was red and had a no admittance sign. Starrk knew he shouldn't but he just couldn't resist and he pushed on the door. He was unaware of incredibly powerful kido wards vanishing as though they'd never been.

Inside the room were many drawers, each neatly labelled. His breath came short and he felt a tingle of excitement as he opened one of the drawers and looked at the thing inside. It looked like an odd piece of trash, made of fused glass and steel. He grasped it, lifting it out and cradling it for a moment as he took a deep breath. It felt… so good…

Then it didn't and he dropped it back into the drawer. Starrk opened another drawer, this time seeing a bottle containing a swirl of looked like pure energy? He unscrewed the jar without fear and the power surged out… before vanishing with something like surprise. Starrk almost hesitated at that but he just couldn't stop. He opened another drawer.

He wasn't sure what this feeling was, but he didn't want it to stop.

* * *

"The kido lock is gone _again?_ " Nanao sounded perturbed and Shunsui knew exactly why. She hated to look incompetent in front of visiting specialists. "I need to check the runes." They were what helped fix the kido in place for long periods. "Starrk-san – oh!" The room was empty. "I'm sorry. He's probably gone to see his sister again." She apologized. The visitor waved it off.

"It's nothing. Let's go see them." He said and Shunsui glanced at him. Kurotsuchi Mayuri was an incredibly strange looking man. But then, he played with corpses for a living and to all appearances, enjoyed it. It likely took a strange mind. He followed behind, curious to see what the man would make of Starrk. He still hadn't eaten anything, which was odd for a revenant.

However, when they went to Lilynette's room, Starrk wasn't there.

"What, you lost him? That's weird. He usually just takes a nap when he's got nothing to do." She said and they exchanged glances. "You checked the cameras?"

"No, but we will now." Nanao was getting really upset now. "I'm sorry to disturb you…" They left Lilynette to her TV program. Big Brother? Yes, that was it. She didn't seem the least bit worried about Starrk. But then, why should she be? He was a revenant.

The security cameras quickly found the wayward undead and Nanao was completely outraged.

"He's in the secured area! Oh my god, he's opening the containment units!" Shunsui stared at the monitor, feeling a bit petrified. The things in there were sealed up for very good reason. Most of them were going for disposal and some were impossible to get rid of, so they were waiting for a more permanent solution. "We have to stop him!"

"Why, I almost think he might be - ?" Mayuri started but Nanao completely ignored him, running out of the room. Shunsui was right behind her. Starrk was unleashing insanely dangerous forces and he didn't seem to care.

They burst into the room and the undead started violently, looking at them with wide-eyes. Shunsui opened his mouth to speak but Nanao beat him to it.

"HAINAWA!" The most powerful version of that basic kido she could muster hit the revenant, winding around him in golden chains – which vanished just a moment later. Shunsui stared as Starrk sighed in what looked like pleasure?

"Oh, that felt good." His eyes had an odd, longing look in them as he stared at Nanao. She was taken aback but began to chant a higher level containing kido. Starrk blinked and a bit of sense came back to his eyes. "Wait, I… oh kami, I'm sorry – " Then the new kido warped the air before – what? Shunsui's eyes went wide as the energy in the air vanished, sucked away. But that wasn't possible. Was it?

"Oh incredible!" Mayuri was behind them and he'd witnessed the whole thing. "He absorbed your kido!" Shunsui swallowed. That was what he'd thought he saw. "And look at the artifacts – " They were littering the floor, bits and pieces of broken things. "They are entirely inert." Shunsui brushed his senses over them and found that was true. There wasn't the slightest hint of kido energy in any of them.

"Can you do that again?" Starrk said dreamily and Kurotsuchi stepped into the room, examining him and making the undead blink and lean back.

"You are FASCINATING! I must run tests on you!" The revenant backed up and Shunsui felt sympathetic. Then his back hit a bunch of cabinets and he felt nearly a dozen kido locks fail simultaneously. The contents of several of the drawers tried to explode out but then that energy vanished, too.

"Oh for… please, get him out of here!" Nanao was more than a little upset at the chaos being created in the orderly room. Shunsui was just thankful for the way Starrk could absorb any kido energy. Really, he was practically doing them a favor, getting rid of these things. Deciding that the situation was deteriorating, he grasped Mayuri's shoulder before pulling him back.

"Let me… Starrk, please, can you come with us to the examination room?" He said gently and grey eyes focused on him. "This is Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He's our expert on revenants and he needs to examine you." Now more than ever. Starrk swallowed hard but nodded.

"I'm really very sorry about this. I just felt… a need…" He murmured as they ushered him out of the room. As they left, Shunsui could hear Nanao busy chanting as she fixed all the wards and locks Starrk had broken. She'd likely be exhausted the rest of the day, by the time she was finished, and he felt a bit badly for her. Yet, he was very glad they'd learned this about Starrk. A revenant who could devour kido?

He'd never heard of such a thing in his life.

* * *

The next day.

"Oh this is AMAZING!" Kurotsuchi was given them all a presentation on their captive undead. Shunsui found the wide grin on his face unsettling. "You know, when you called me here I thought this would just be a garden variety revenant. I had a few things I wanted to do here anyway, though, so I didn't mind. But this! You've given me a treasure! I've never seen anything like him!"

"Can you please tell us how he destroyed so much kido?" Nanao was still out of sorts and looked very tired. Shunsui wouldn't say it but he thought it was partly he own fault. She COULD have gotten help recasting the wards. But his dear Nanao-chan was a perfectionist and felt that no one could do the kido quite as well as she could.

"Yes indeed… Nemu?" The display began showing them Starrk. He was sitting at the table in the examination room, his chin in his hand. On the side of the monitor was a colored band. "This is a measure of his reiatsu levels." Shunsui blinked at that. Revenants typically had very little reiatsu, garnered from their victims. "They range from practically non-existent to equivalent to two times the strongest taichou on record." …Really? "We have found no true upper limit." Shunsui stared, willing the man to elaborate. "We are limited by our own, ahah, stamina! Let me show you…"

The next scene was Nemu and Kurotsuchi both conversing with the undead. Then they began casting kido after kido. Starrk just sat at the table with an air of mild bewilderment as forces potent enough to reduce a large building to ash flowed directly into him without pause. They could see the meter increasing and increasing. Then, the two of them stopped. What followed was Nemu bringing in several containers that Shunsui recognized as things meant for disposal. They gave those boxes to Starrk and the reiatsu he contained jumped again. And it kept jumping, every time something new touched his hands. Shunsui noticed that the man seemed very alive, wide awake and smiling as he handled the artifacts.

"We decided to stop at this point." Shunsui glanced at the meter and winced. It was at the very top, the zone Mayuri had colored blue. "And then we began our destructive testing. The first thing we gave him was a piece of black seki-stone." What? Shunsui watched as Starrk held the stone and asked a question. At Mayuri's prompting, the revenant squeezed. The stone held on for just a moment before shattering.

"Kami." Juushiro whispered as Shunsui swallowed. There was nothing harder than that kind of seki stone. It required very special kidos to work it, and it could only be done once. After the seki stone turned black, it was too strong to ever be worked again.

"You see how the meter dramatically dropped?" Mayuri gestured and they all saw Starrk's power had taken a significant dip. He was now a bit lower than the strongest taichou. "Watch…" They gave Starrk more things to destroy. Solid steel, marble, all kinda of hard materials… the revenant easily tore through them all. As he did, his reiatsu kept dropping and dropping. On the last few, Shunsui could see that Starrk had to put real effort into it and the undead was starting to look tired. "Now, watch what happens as his reiatsu continues to decay."

The tape skipped a bit of time – boring moments where someone cleaned up the mess – and Starrk was left alone, sitting at the table. At first he just sat quietly, taking a nap. But then he roused himself and Shunsui could see a kind of anxiety on his face. He stood and began to pace, moving around with a tired shuffle. Then he went to the door, but he only rattled the handle?

"An ordinary lock. He could have smashed the door, of course, even in his drained state." Kurotsuchi said, watching the video. "I was curious to see if his hunger would be strong enough to do it. However, it seems to be only a vague urge. Or perhaps he just has a reasonable amount of self-control." They could see Starrk resting his forehead against the door for a moment before heaving a large sigh. Then he left the door before sitting at the table again. He looked terribly fatigued, now. Glancing at the reiatsu bar, Shunsui could see it was well into the red. It continued dropping and Starrk dropped his head onto the table, taking a sleeping pose. Shunsui could see his face and smiled a bit as the revenant began drooling a little, clearly deeply asleep. "Now, at this point the energy loss stabilizes. A normal revenant would eventually go mad with hunger, but he appears to go into a hibernation mode. Now, watch what happens when we try to rouse him."

Nemu and Mayuri both went back into the room and tried everything, even a bit of mild physical violence, to rouse the undead. The only thing they didn't try was anything really violent… the slap on the back of the head Nemu administered would only have stung, if Starrk had been able to feel it. Nothing could rouse him at all. Then they spoke for a moment and Nemu began chanting a kido. When she released it, the reaction was sudden and dramatic. Starrk jerked his head up like someone had shouted in his ear and glanced around, blinking. He wiped a bit of drool off his chin before saying something. Mayuri replied with a grin and the undead tilted his head to one side before yawning widely and stretching.

"How is this possible?" Juushiro asked. "I've never heard of a revenant that could devour kido." And it was a very dangerous thing. Normally, revenants were weak to kido. And they had no other true weaknesses. Conventional weapons worked very, very poorly. Mayuri grinned.

"It took me some time to determine, but I have the answer. In life, this man was a focus." There was a shocked silence and Juushiro and Shunsui exchanged a glance.

Focuses were incredibly rare. One in a million, they had no kido power of their own. What they had instead was the ability to focus kido for those around them. They could amplify power, and also direct it. The strongest kido workings, and also the most delicate, were only possible with the aide of a focus. But they were supposed to be tested for during high school – Shunsui suddenly groaned.

"Oh kami." Everyone looked at him and he explained. "Starrk dropped out to take care of his sister when he was fifteen. The tests are run at sixteen. Only one year…" Just one year and Starrk would have lived a comfortable life. Even if he'd been a low level focus, he'd have been guaranteed a middle-class existence with light work. "He fell through the cracks." It was a true tragedy. "That was what they were testing him for." He was suddenly certain of it. That 'modelling' job… they'd been trying to find a focus.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Kurotsuchi asked and he explained about the cattle call Starrk had gone to. "Ah yes, that's very likely. It's going to take us a long time to fully decipher the kido that created him. However, I have some, ahah, speculations." Mayuri's grin was frightening to behold. "This is a revenant that devours kido, and every kido he takes in only makes him stronger. He can destroy even black seki stone when he's fully charged and given that the accepted way to fight revenants is to fire kido at them, it wouldn't take him long to be fully charged, ahaha!" …Oh god. Was he…? "This revenant has NO WEAKNESSES! He was created as an amazing, incredibly powerful weapon!" Shunsui swallowed, absolutely sure Kurotsuchi was right. But…

"How did it go wrong?" Nanao asked and Shunsui nodded. Something had clearly gone very wrong with the plans of whoever had done this. "And why involve Shunsui? I don't understand."

"Well, this is only a theory. We'll have to confirm it with the kido. But why do revenants usually return, aside from concern about loved ones?" He asked and then answered himself. "Revenge. I believe your Kyoraku Shunsui was actually designated as a sacrifice." He grinned then as Shunsui swallowed. That… made sense. "So perhaps you should see who would like to create a weapon and eliminate him at the same time, hmm?"

"We know." He muttered. He was sure the pink haired man Starrk had met was Szayelporro Grantz. They probably would never be able to prove it, though. "Go on. How did it go wrong?" He was interested in that. Mayuri rolled his eyes.

"I do hate the soft sciences. Psychology, argh… however, you discount it at you peril. Whoever did this no doubt found only one focus. They didn't bother to evaluate his personality or mental state. I, however, have read the full reports and questioned both Starrk and Lilynette. So I believe I can safely say that 'revenge' and 'Coyote Starrk' are two things that should never be uttered in the same sentence." Shunsui couldn't help but laugh. That was so true. "Also, the perpetrator of this crime didn't realize that Starrk was acquainted with you. Really, how could they have known you went to school together, or that the man nurtured a secret crush on you?" Shunsui blushed as both Juushiro and Nanao looked at him.

"Secret crush?" Nanao sounded highly amused and Shunsui wanted to sink through the floor. Mayuri brushed it away.

"That's how Lilynette described it. In any case, I believe we'll find that the kido in the blades was meant to return him in a burst of revengeful energies. When that didn't happen, it went dormant. No doubt a great disappointment for whoever was behind this. However, they also lost nothing. Given how long it's been I'm sure they've covered their tracks quite thoroughly."

"Oh, they have." Shunsui sighed as he thought about it. The man he'd taken his swords to, to be measured, was dead. His business had burned down with him inside. Very suspicious. As for the agency that had run the modelling shoot, it had gone out of business and those they'd been able to speak to had known exactly nothing. All the documents had been destroyed. "I'm absolutely certain Aizen Sosuke was behind this." What had he intended to use Starrk for? Something absolutely terrible, no doubt. "How did they intend to control him?" That was a matter of concern.

"That was what I looked into first. I believe, if this spell had reached its' proper completion, Starrk would have been enslaved to the creator of the kido." Mayuri sounded very smug, now. "However, that didn't happen. We should fully evaluate the kido to make certain, but I think the revenant is now a free agent. One we could easily recruit!" That idea took his breath away. A revenant with no weakness to kido, working for the Gotei 13? What could they do with him? "It's a shame he no longer functions as a true focus. Still, if you can teach him to fight and actually motivate him to do so, he could be a remarkable weapon!"

"We'll have to complete the kido evaluation." Nanao said firmly and Shunsui nodded. "We need to make sure he cannot be controlled by outside influences." That was critical. "We should probably call in a few more kido specialists."

"Yes indeed. I can recommend…" Shunsui left them to it, gazing at the frozen video. Starrk was leaning back in his chair, smiling slightly. He looked happy and pleased with himself. Could they recruit him into the Gotei 13?

They would just have to see.


End file.
